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Sunday, September 24, 2017

Self-Management vs A Management Company: No Savings at All

Looking at Sun City Anthem Financial Strength
Then & Now
with Comparison to
Sun City Summerlin

24ef66a3503ce5c734b1388839018023.jpg (617×597)

by
Barry Goldstein
Former Member of the Sun City Anthem Finance Committee 

A few days ago a draft of the 2018 Sun City Anthem Budget was presented to the unit owners and its contents should put to rest the misinformation published by a blogger who opposes the removal of the Directors Weddle, NIssen, Waterhouse, and Burch.

Has Self-Management been cost effective?

Let's look at some comparisons !

A. In 2015 (the last full year in which FSR managed the community),  the total amount expended by Sun City Anthem for payroll and benefits totaled:

$2,865,733

In 2017 (the first FULL year under self-management, the budget projected these costs to be:
$3,372,020

Result:

Additional expense under Self-Management:

$506,287

Adding back the FRS management fee that would have been paid to FSR in 2015 to the amounts paid in salary and benefits that year ($2,865,733): 

$408,000

Total amount that would have been paid in 2015 had FSR been retained:

$3,273,733

Additional 2017 cost of Self-Management
$98,287

B. Annual increases in payroll and benefits Comparison:

From 2014 to 2015  while managed by FSR, the increase in payroll and benefits was:
 $25,000

The increase from 2017 projected year end of $3,372,020 to 2018 budgeted payroll and benefits is:
 $423,000

C. Many comments have been made requesting a comparison of Sun City Anthem costs to other Homeowners Associations' expenditures; and perhaps the best example is looking at our northwest neighbor, Sun City Summerlin.

Currently, Sun City Anthem is the second largest HOA in Nevada while Sun City Summerlin is the largest.

Looking at Sun City Summerlin (which is readily available for public viewing on their web site), that community consists of the following:



3 golf courses
3 restaurants
4 community centers



Summerlin is populated with 7,800 homes.


Current number of employees: 300

Annual employee payroll: $7,691,772

Annual Dues assessment: $1,392

Analysis Comparison to Sun City Anthem:


They pay $182 per year additional dues; however they are also responsible for  3 golf courses, 3 restaurants and 4 centers.

They have 4 times the employees, but pay 2 times for payroll and benefits.
Summerlin Reserve Account: $15,000,000.

Summerlin interest income: $250,000.

Result of analysis:

They have 50% more in their reserve account than Sun City Anthem, but get 3 times the return, under the same investment restrictions.

And one more item that has caused the greatest conflict:

D: General Manager Compensation:

Sun City Summerlin 
$160,000

Sun City Anthem
$270,000

To coin a phrase that has been used so often by the Removal opponents:

you-get-what-you-pay-for-resized.jpg (600×400)
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Anthem Opinions thanks Barry Goldstein for the time and effort he devoted in obtaining this helpful information.

What conclusion can be drawn from all of this?

6269908454_53a5a8c538_t.jpg (100×75)

Got a comment?

Send it to us at:
scaopinions@gmail.com
  1. From Valerie Lapin...to...Anthem Opinions

    We have been lied to for years by Boards, and this information says it all!
    1. From Jerry Lafavor...to...Anthem Opinions

      I still don't understand why the population thinks Self-management is better than hiring a Property Management Company.

      We own rental properties in Anthem and would never even consider managing them ourselves.

      The Property Management Company we use provides a rental ad if required, screens all applicants, visits the property every 90 days, collects all the rent, handles all the maintenance/repair calls, and send us reports and our share of the revenue monthly.

      I am sure managing our HOA property is much more complicated, but there are a number of companies that can do this job very well.

      They say you get what you pay for, and I for one, think paying for a Property Management Company is the best use of my HOA $.

2 comments:

  1. From Valerie Lapin...to...Anthem Opinions

    We have been lied to for years by Boards, and this information says it all!

    ReplyDelete
  2. From Jerry Lafavor...to...Anthem Opinions

    I still don't understand why the population thinks Self-management is better than hiring a Property Management Company.

    We own rental properties in Anthem and would never even consider managing them ourselves.

    The Property Management Company we use provides a rental ad if required, screens all applicants, visits the property every 90 days, collects all the rent, handles all the maintenance/repair calls, and send us reports and our share of the revenue monthly.

    I am sure managing our HOA property is much more complicated, but there are a number of companies that can do this job very well.

    They say you get what you pay for, and I for one, think paying for a Property Management Company is the best use of my HOA $.

    ReplyDelete